According to former England player David Lloyd, Shubman Gill's replacement of Virat Kohli as India's Test batting captain is as smooth as a new monarch assuming the throne following the passing of the old monarch.
World-class players are not as irreplaceable as people believe, he says, expressing the same sentiment regarding "box office" Rishabh Pant leading the squad to the "next level."
Following India's dominant fourth day at Edgbaston in the second Test, Lloyd made these remarks. Pant hit a fast-paced 58-ball 65, while Gill hit a near-run-a-ball 161, making him the first batter in history to reach 200 and 150 in a Test. England was set a target of 608 runs after India declared their second innings on 427/6.
“People say world-class players are irreplaceable, but are they? This is a real case of ‘The King is dead, long live the King.’ Shubman Gill has taken over seamlessly from one of the greatest modern batsmen, Virat Kohli, and in style too. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant is always box office and has taken India to the next level after MS Dhoni. High praise indeed, for both," Lloyd wrote in his column for Daily Mail.
Gill has made significant progress in allaying India's concerns about their number four after Kohli's Test retirement in May, but Pant has already surpassed Dhoni to become unquestionably India's best wicketkeeper. He is only eight runs short of the Delhi player's all-time high in an English series with 585 runs in just four innings.
The pitch is still not playing enough tricks to make a draw attempt challenging, but the hosts' defense and India's skill with the ball are the key factors. Lloyd believes that by selecting Washington Sundar above Kuldeep Yadav, India may come to regret being cautious.
“I had a message from none other than Farokh Engineer questioning why Kuldeep Yadav is not playing. Well, I agree Mr. Engineer. On the last day, India may well be crying out for some wrist spin. This is when they need Yadav but in fairness, Siraj and Akash Deep have bowled really well on a surface that hasn’t offered much. India went with the conservative selection of Washington Sundar but will they come to regret not having Yadav on a day five pitch?" Lloyd wrote.
England lost both overnight batters Harry Brook and Ollie Pope to Akash Deep as soon as day 5’s play began after one hour of rainfall.
